Abstract

Information systems and communication technologies (ICTs) gave us new and innovative wave of communication life such as living in cyber space, instant messaging, and communications with whom anyone in anywhere. These are changing not only life-style, but also mode of business in ev- ery industry. Health care service industry is resource-intensive, process- oriented, and doing business traditionally by method of con- frontation between medical professionals and patients. ICTs have great potential to address some of the challenges faced by both developed and developing countries in providing accessible, cost-effective, high-quality health care services. Telemedicine uses ICTs to overcome geographical barriers, and increase access to health care services. These are par- ticularly beneficial for rural and underserved communities in developing countries - groups that traditionally suffered from lack of access to health care. In light of this potential, the World Health Organization (WHO) established the Global Observatory for eHealth (GOe) to review the benefits that ICTs can bring to health care and patients’ wellbeing. The Observatory is charged with determining the status of eHealth solutions, including telemedicine, at the national, regional, and global levels, and providing WHO’s Member States with reliable information and guidance on best prac- tices, policies, and standards in eHealth. In 2005, following the formation of WHO’s eHealth strat- egy, the Observatory conducted a global eHealth survey to obtain general information about the state of eHealth among Telemedicine: Opportunities and Developments in Member States: Report on the Second Global Survey on eHealth 2009 (Global Observatory for eHealth Series, Volume 2) Seewon Ryu, PhD Department of Health Policy and Healthcare Management, Inje Institute of Advanced Studies, Seoul, Korea [email protected] Healthc Inform Res. 2012 June;18(2):153-155. http://dx.doi.org/10.4258/hir.2012.18.2.153 pISSN 2093-3681

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